This invention relates to a sweeping machine having two circular brooms which are arranged laterally in the front area of a housing. The circular brooms rotate toward the inside and sweep over a sweeping lip and are each supported by means of a roller. The shaft holders of the rollers are held vertically adjustably in the housing by means of supporting devices for adjusting the distance between the sweeping lip and the floor.
It is known (U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,174) to drive the laterally arranged circular brooms of a sweeping machine by means of rollers arranged inside the bristle ring of the circular brooms. By means of a shaft holder arranged concentrically with respect to the circular broom, each of these rollers is vertically adjustably held in the housing. By means of the vertical adjustment of the rollers, the broom pressure on the floor can be changed, and the distance of the sweeping lip to the receptacle for the sweepings relative to the floor can be changed. The shaft holders project through the housing and are held in supporting devices which are held in the top side of the housing. Each supporting device can be vertically adjusted separately relative to the housing, whereby each shaft holder also changes its height relative to the housing.
It is an object of the invention to provide a sweeping machine of the initially mentioned type by means of which a correct adjustment of the distance of the sweeping lip from the floor and the adjustment of the broom pressure are facilitated.
This object is achieved by providing a joint vertical adjustment device for the supporting devices of both rollers.
As a result, the operating comfort of the sweeping machine is increased. By means of the measure according to the invention, it is ensured that both rollers are vertically adjusted by always the same amount so that a faulty adjustment is prevented.
As a development of the invention, the supporting devices are arranged between a stop surface of the housing and the respective, approximately vertically aligned shaft holder. As a result, the sweeping machine is considerably reinforced for the absorption of axial stresses of the shaft holders. This is particularly advantageous because it frequently happens in practice that sweeping machines are repeatedly lifted by operators during the sweeping operation and are lowered to strike the floor in order to shake out the sweepings caught in the bristles. In the state of the art, in the case of a particularly violent striking against the floor, the shaft holders might be stressed in the axial direction to such an extent that they were pressed upward through the supporting elements and destroyed these. This is prevented by the mentioned development.
In a further development of the invention, each supporting device is constructed as a slide which can be adjusted transversely to the pertaining shaft holder and has a sloped supporting surface facing the end of the shaft holder. The slides with the oblique supporting surfaces form the axial abutment for the shaft holders so that, by means of a displacement of the slides, the axial position of the shaft holder can be adjusted.
In a further development of the invention, a joint adjusting element for the adjusting of the slides is provided. In a further development, an adjusting wheel which is rotatably disposed on the housing is provided as the adjusting element. By means of a simple rotating of the adjusting wheel, the height of the two shaft holders and thus of the two rollers relative to the housing can be adjusted in each case by the same amounts.
In a further development of the invention, the adjusting wheel is provided with two stops for the bounding of its adjusting range which are arranged at an angle with respect to one another. An overturning of the adjusting wheel and resulting damage to the vertical adjustment device are therefore avoided.
In a further development of the invention, several lock-in positions are provided on the housing in the area of the adjusting wheel distributed over the adjusting range into which the adjusting wheel can be locked. As a result, the adjusting wheel can be locked in certain given adjusting positions.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.